14 Days

Lzzy stood waiting in the lobby for the two stragglers, adamant that she would not let them slip out of the hotel and towards the festival without her. She had promised the rest of the group that she would catch up to them later during the day, the others happy to let her stay and wait for Evie so they could catch a few more bands. They were all too excited to make the best of the backstage passes while they could, celebrating the end of their tour in the most perfect way they could think of.

The pair she was waiting on exited the elevator hand in hand, causing Lzzy to raise a perfectly manicured brow in questioning. Evie’s blush said it all, Lzzy more than happy that her friend had listened to her advice and finally opened herself up to happiness, whether it was temporary or not. Once the greetings were over (a hug for the girls, and the classic head nod between Lzzy and Brian), the triad made their way to the front of the hotel, hailing a taxi when one came in to view.

Lzzy sat up front, giving the driver directions to the festival ground before twisting her body to face the couple in the backseat. With hands still linked, they looked at Lzzy, Evie with a silent warning to play nice, Brian with a look of curiosity. He had been warned that Lzzy might be in a questioning mood and had mentally prepared himself for an onslaught of personal and trick questions. Being scoped out by a best friend was not something new to him, and he was fully prepared to answer any and all questions she threw at him. “So,” Lzzy started, deciding to work slowly and build up, “when did this happen?”

“This morning,” Evie replied, quieting after receiving a particularly pointed look from Lzzy. She mimed zipping her lips and throwing away the key.

“I am so happy! Evie has finally let someone in,” Lzzy said, grinning widely at the pair. Evie quickly glanced over to Brian to see a small smug smirk being sent her way. Evie’s stomach sank realising that this ride was going to be more ‘embarrassing Evie’ than ‘interrogation’.

“Finally, hey?” Brian asked Evie, watching as Evie shrugged and mumbled something nonsensical before her attention went to the window of the cab.

“Yes, finally! I feel like it has been an eon since she was with someone. No matter my pushing or convincing, I could never get her to actually settle down,” Lzzy exclaimed, each word turning Evie’s cheeks a darker shade of pink.

“Settling down is a bit strong,” Evie muttered, dying a little bit on the inside from Lzzy’s intense vernacular.

“Hush,” Lzzy told her before her attention went straight back to Brian. “Now tell me all about your band. I want to know who you are, where you come from, who you are influenced by, what we are in for tonight.”

Evie’s attention drifted from the other two now chatting away, Brian explaining Avenged’s style while Lzzy listened eagerly. It wasn’t long before the entire conversation changed to purely music, something both of them could talk about at length. Instead of listening in, Evie watched the world fly by the car, the scenery changing from the cityscape to the suburbs towards the gates of the festival venue.

She tried not to get too trapped in her thoughts as the cab ride continued, though her plans ultimately failed as she became plagued with the memories of Troy and his backstabbing. Though this morning had helped her push the situation to the back burner, it hadn’t eradicated the problem. She needed a game plan if she were to see Troy in person that day, and she needed to come up with it fast. As much as she really, really wanted to send a well aimed fist in his direction, she knew it would not be the smartest, nor the most effective way to get her thoughts across, even if it would feel the best by far. No, she couldn’t afford getting thrown out of the festival for starting a fight right before her last show with the boys, she hadn’t worked this hard over the last 2 weeks for nothing.

Instead, she needed to play nice, to pretend that she knew nothing about his petty plan and to let him think that he would eventually get his way. As much as getting revenge physically would satisfy her in the short term, she needed to rise above and approach the situation professionally. She would need to talk to Phil, tell him that she knew what Troy was trying to do and that she would not go down without a fight. There were a myriad of ways she would be able to prove herself worthy of her position and convince him that she wasn’t employed solely due to nepotism, and she would be damned if either Phil or Troy took that chance away.

The cab stopped abruptly, shaking Evie from her train of thought as it pulled up in front of the gates. Still chatting away, Lzzy paid the driver before they all exited the vehicle, walking towards the artist’s entry they had left less than 12 hours earlier. Brian had happily answered all of Lzzy questions, the pair now discussing which was the best sandwich shop in Dallas. Evie didn’t even try to fill in the blanks on how they got on to that specific topic, deciding instead to just go with the flow.

They made their way back through the labyrinth of corridors and tents backstage, Lzzy moving like a woman on a mission to meet up with the rest of the group. Brian stopped mid step, causing Evie and Lzzy to stop in a chain reaction.

“The guys are this way,” he said, pointing to an offshoot corridor away from where they were currently heading.

“Ours are this way,” Lzzy said, indicating their original route. Evie was silent, stuck in the middle and needing to make a choice; follow Brian, or follow Lzzy? She wasn’t blind enough not to see the irony of the current situation.

“Um,” she said, her first words in over 20 minutes not as elegant as she would have hoped.

“It’s only 2pm,” Brian said, seeing the internal conflict on Evie’s features. “We don’t start for hours yet. Go have fun with your brother, and catch up with us later.”

“Uh,” she stuttered, again, her brain not working fast enough to come up with a single sentence.

“Seriously, you didn’t spend a lot of time with him last night. Go have fun,” Brian told her, closing the gap between them and taking her in his arms. As she looked up at him, her eyes wide and a silent ‘thank you’ on her lips, he felt himself melting.

Being able to hold her, to lean down and kiss her when he wanted, to make her happy, was like discovering a new drug. His heart rate increased as she stood on her toes to get closer, his brain blanked as her lips met his own, and he couldn’t help but sigh as soon as the moment was over.

“I’ll see you soon?” She asked quietly, the vulnerability seeping through in her words. She wasn’t sure if she was meant to fight against his decision and insist she was coming along with him. Was it a test?

“You will,” he promised. Unable to help himself, he kissed her once again, getting lost for another moment as everything else but her faded away.

“I know I approve of this, but come on, love birds, break it up,” Lzzy said, grabbing Evie’s hands and giving a firm tug. Sheepishly, the couple broke apart and said a finally ‘see ya’ as the trio split up to find their groups.

As they walked, Lzzy chatted mindlessly to Evie whose mind was still back in the moment with Brian, thought she did catch the approval in Lzzy’s tone. For Evie, things couldn’t really get a lot better; she and Brian were finally on the same page, her best friend approved of her new man, she was at a festival about to see some of her favourite bands surrounded by her favourite people, and later today she would be able to finish up her job for the next few months in one of the largest shows she had ever been apart of. If it weren’t for the pesky ‘Troy’ problem, her life would be perfect.

Lzzy and Evie finally caught up with the band, Evie immediately heading for her brother and giving him a giant hug and apology.

“I am so sorry I had to bail last night,” she started, no giving Josh a chance to speak. “I just was feeling shitty and the last thing I needed was to drink even more alcohol, especially when I still had to work today-”

“Evie, it’s ok,” Josh interrupted, covering her mouth with his hand. It was the only way she would respond to, years of trial and error proving the method. Josh looked at his sister, happiness radiating out of her regardless of her traumatic night, and immediately pulled her in for another hug. “I am just glad you’re here now.”

Evie smiled warmly at her brother, not having the words to express how much his sentiment meant to her.

“You know, you are the best,” she told him earnestly.

“I know,” he responded, his sarcastic wit reminding her once again how similar they were.

“Guys, you make all other siblings look bad,” Arejay whined, throwing his empty cup at the Smith’s before taking Lzzy into a headlock. “Why aren’t we that cute?”

“Because you do things like this, asshole!” Lzzy replied, a well aimed punch hitting Arejay’s rib cage and making him let her go as he groaned in pain. Lzzy fixed her hair, sending Arejay a dirty look as she moved around the group to put Joe in the middle of the pair.

Evie couldn’t help but laugh at the antics, feeling herself settle back into the fold of her friends and family as if she had not been away and no time had passed. Perfect, she thought.

Notes

I am so sorry it has been forever, and this chapter is shit and short and just filler bullshit!!!
Real life has been a real asshole this week, and I just haven't been in the writing mood.
I AM SORRY!!
Bright side is that it can only get better, right?
I just felt like I had to put something out to let you know I haven't forgotten about you!

Love me anyway?
Xoxo
Sas